In this video segment, we're going to cover SQL Server settings and features. So we have a SQL Server already deployed that we're backing up. There are a couple things we need to do in order to assure that this data is actually going to be recoverable.
So, first things first, from the core, we're going to go over to the Configuration tab. And we're going to go to Attach Ability. Here is where we're going to tell it what instance of SQL to use to test. So I have an instance here that I want to leverage for testing, my 2008 R2 server.
Now, it happens that I am using a 2008 R2 server on the core already. And that's why I have that SQL instance capable there. I do not have any additional instances set up for any of the other platforms, nor do I have 2012 installed. But this one will cover everything below it. If I had 2012, I could load 2012. And that would cover everything below it. It has to be equal to or greater than what you're using in production. All right?
The next thing is is the credentials for the server. So we're going to go ahead and put in our domain administrator account. It could be any account. It could be using SQL security. Or it could be using the Windows integrated security.
So we're going to go ahead and put in our administrator account, our password. We'll hit Test Connection. Everything works. Say OK and Apply. Now, when we go to do our attachability tests at the end of each day, we will automatically test against this instance of SQL.
Now let's hop on over to the SQL Server. Once again, I have the SQL Server settings. This one actually only has two-- enable nightly attachability check and truncate the logs after successful attachability check. All right? Something to keep in mind is what's in parentheses here. This only works in simple recovery mode.
There are actually three modes for back up. The two most important are simple and full. So let's say, small organization, they don't have a dedicated DBA. They just want to back up and be able to recover their SQL Server. Simple mode is the default mode. And it enables Microsoft VSS to snapshot and quiesce.
Full mode is what you would find in most larger shops that have dedicated DBAs. And what they'll do is they will omit or not protect the database volumes. In this case, it would be F and G, F for the databases, G for the logs. They would not be protected because, in full mode, you don't have VSS.
The next thing they would also do is configure another volume. And they would use it for database dumps. They would be dumping the database and the transaction logs periodically throughout the day to that volume. And then AppAssure can come in and back that volume up.
The difference in your capabilities, in simple mode, AppAssure can back up as frequent as every five minutes. And that would be your RPO. In full mode, you get the ability to choose a literal point in time of an hour, a minute, and a second when you want to recover by either replaying the logs or rolling back the logs, the SQL logs.
Under configuration, there's the same things that we saw on the Exchange video, where you can set custom alerts settings for this particular server or use the core, a custom retention policy. So, again, if your corporate governance says keep data for 30 days but maybe for a specific type of SQL Server, maybe it's your customer database, you need to retain it longer, so you can basically set a custom retention policy for this particular server.
On the Recovery Points tab, since we just enabled the SQL testing, we do not have any green lights telling us that things have gone swimmingly. So what we'll do is we'll force one, just a verify that it works. We'll click on Check and say Force Attachability Check. Say Yes.
And now it tells us we can open the monitor window, which we will choose to do. And now we can watch the progress. And it looks like everything is succeeded. And we have a green light on our recovery point.